Jessica's first Antelope hunt..............

Our Wyoming Antelope hunt.

This was Jessica's first hunt. Meredith & I had a great time with her and our good Christian friends Dave and Sally. We stayed with Dave and Sally at their house and hunted their and their neighbors land. Sally cooked for us. She and Dave spoiled us the whole time we were there.

Photo # 1. This is Jessica's first buck, Yes, she killed the largest buck on the trip. That is exactly what her mother prayed for and God answered it. She was so excited and a true sport to stick with .....a true blessing to all of us and as Dave said, "she's a kick in the pants". We have been planning this hunt for a couple of years now and it was sure worth the wait.



Photo # 2. Jessica shot this doe at 351 yards, according to my rangefinder. She was using her Mom's 25-06, with 120 grain handloads, which were made by her "adopted" Great Grand Father Ernie, before he went to be with his Lord. I wanted to make sure she used this special ammo for her first hunt, as Ernie is a very special person to our family. He died at the age of 93 a few years back.
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Hiker
Jessica with our good friends, Dave & Sally. They are a true blessing to be around and hunt with.

Dave & Sally love to hunt and just got back from a Arctic hunt. They killed three caribou and a barren ground Grizzly, Dave's second. Dave showed me his antler collection and I was amazed and I only saw part of them. Out of 44 elk permits, he has killed 42 elk. That is downright incredible...........Wow.
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Hiker
Jeff aka Hiker and Meredith with Jessica and her buck
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Hiker
Meredith's Buck............
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Hiker
Hiker's buck.....the smallest of the group.

Thanks to Dave and Sally and their ATV's the drags were easy.....Meredith said, I like this type of hunting.



This was a very special hunt and we Thank God for His blessings.
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MuleyMadness
What a great time with the whole family, that's what it's all about. Spending time with family and enjoying the beauties of nature in Gods great outdoors.

Congrats my friend.

Brett
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bigbuck92
looks like great family fun. congrats on all of the sucess
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hound_hunter
way to go on gettin your girl out, and the wife too!!! Jess looks like she's havin the time of her life out there!!! Sure wish the girls in my family liked to hunt, that'd be a lot of fun - well anyways, sounds like everyone had an awesome time and you all got some great goats!! congrats again!
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AGCHAWK
Hiker, that was a wonderful lookin' hunt. CONGRATS to Jessica on her first buck...her smile is PRICELESS!!! Truely shows what huntin' is all about.

Great friends, family, and loved ones enjoying the GREAT outdoors together and what it provides.....can't ask for ANYTHING else, can we?!

Thanks Hiker. The story and pics made my night!
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Hiker
Thanks! I'm glad you guys enjoyed the photos and hunt. We had a wonderful time and this hunt will always be special to us.
The wind was horrible on the last day and at times the shot would move 10" per 100 yards, so needless to say we went through some ammo and frustration but thankfully it all worked out and no animals were left on the mountain wounded.I had winds like that when I used to hunt in the Laramie, WY area but don't remember the shots moving that much.
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MuleyMadness
Man that is some crazy wind... 10" at 100 yards is nuts, have never had that happen to me before.
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Hiker
Man that is some crazy wind... 10" at 100 yards is nuts, have never had that happen to me before.
Brett, the main problem was the sudden change of wind gusts from like 20 to 60 mph, it was hard to predict but thankfully we had killed most of our antelope the first couple days of the hunt, before the wind kicked up.
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nice goats hiker!
Ronald
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ABert
Some how I missed this before. Huge CONGRATS to your daughter! Best way to introduce a youngun to hunting and what can be better than great friends to boot! I know my brother wanted to get together when we came up for hunting in Nov but we never made the connection. Maybe next year we'll finally meet up.
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nice job hiker and congrats to your daughter on her buck and doe antelope . looke you all had fun and enjoyed your stay with your friends . nice to see that you and your family enjoy the great outdoors .
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Hiker
Thanks! Coloradobuck, ABert & zatarain6.

Coloradobuck, ::wel to Muley Madness.

Abert, I'm looking forward to meeting you too, your brother has told me a lot about you. My brother Mark and I hunted together for many years. I think it's great to hunt with siblings, as we know how to stretch each other. Maybe next fall, we all can hook up before you guys head up to the high country.
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Hiker
Hello! This is Jessica, Hiker's daughter. Thanks to you all for all the nice congrats! I had the time of a lifetime and I got to ride on ATV'S alot and forgot how nice it is not to have to Hike. My dad hikes your tail off everytime we go hunting. I never thought that it would be hard to get one when we first got there. Everywhere you looked there were antelope. But as soon as we shot, they were off and it was a real challenge to get into them again. I missed a shot earlier at a nice buck, so when I had a chance at the doe, I thought, "Oh, here is more target practice again. I'm not going to hit her." I was so shocked when Dad yelled I did. I was on fire after getting my doe.
Later the next day, we got Dad's buck and doe. I tried, but didn't see anything I really liked except this huge and very tall buck. I wasn't able to get a shot on him though. Mom saw him too and had her eyes on him so she called him her buck. We had a "little fight" over him, even though no one got him.
The next day, our final day, I was determined to do my best to get a buck. As soon as I walked outside, I knew it would be tough day to hunt. It was very windy. Mom was able to get a shot on a nice buck. After gutting mom's antelope dad went down to the barn to start skinning the antelope for the trip home to Castle Rock.
Mr. Wesen and I decided to go out "scouting" for a nice buck. Hardly out of the drive way, we saw what we were looking for. The buck was nice yet very skittish. He went over a ridge and we couldn't see him any more. He popped out on the other side of the road and then he bedded in the middle of the field. He thought we couldn't see him, but we could. It was less than an 100 yard shot and boy was I excited. The wind started back up and I shot..... The bullet landed in the dust right behind him and I tried again. I missed about four times because the wind kept moving my bullet sideways and then he got up and ran. We chased after him to the next field and then we couldn't see him. I was so mad. Mr. Wesen was sad too, because he said to Dad when we got back, "I don't want to tell her, but that was a nice buck." I felt like the Lord just didn't want me to get a buck. We were packing up to leave, when Mrs. Wesen said, "I just cleaned my glasses and I still don't see anymore antelope. Jeppers! Jessica come here. Isn't that your buck walking up to the field?" I jumped up and said,"WHAT?" Sure enough, it was my buck. Mrs. Wesen got Mr. Wesen and we put all our gear on and I got my gun and more bullets. We snuck up to a nearby ridge, which made my shot about 250 yards. I got to the top of the ridge and asked Mr. Wesen to back me up. I got my gun ready and started to focus on my breathing. I said a quick prayer that the Lord would stop the wind for a secound so I could shoot. The wind died and I shot. I missed and I quickly re-loaded. I shot again and I hit him right in the "broiler room" as Mrs. Wesen would call it! He slowly got up and looked around. He had no idea what had hit him. He fell to the ground. I screamed in surprise! I jumped up and gave Mr. Wesen a hug! I couldn't believe it.I was so excited and when Mom, Mrs. Wesen and Dad came, I told them that my buck was bigger than both Mom and Dad's! They were so excited and I really couldn't stop smiling. We went back to the house, put him in the truck and we packed the rest of the stuff. As we drove home, I recalled what a blast I had! I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR AND HOPEFULLY I CAN GET A EVEN BIGGER BUCK!~!

Jessica
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MuleyMadness
Great job Jessica! :thumb

Thanks for the story, sounds like your dad is teaching you well. Keep up the good work.
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HighLander
Great pics and congrats!
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AGCHAWK
Jessica, what a wonderful story! Thanks for taking the time to fill us in on all the details. Sounds like you had a blast, because after all, hunting is full of ups and downs.

Again, congrats on harvesting a fine lookin' buck! I'm man enough to say that "I'M JEALOUS".
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hound_hunter
Awesome story and great pictures! seems like you had quite an experience out there, congradulations on a great hunt for you and your family! thanks for the story too =D>
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TheGreatwhitehunter
That aboy Hiker now that Jessica has her antelope its time to get those Whitetails :thumb :)
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thanks for welcomeing me hiker!
and your welcom
Ronald
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Rileyhunter
Great job on the antelope hunt thanks for the story
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killerbee
great story i enjoyed it cant wait for the next one.
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DeadI
Very nice pics. The smiles say it all. Looks like you had a great time.
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Hiker
Thanks guys! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Jessica is a true pleasure to hunt with. She is a true "Cowgirl" and works her tail off, never complains and will hike with me as far in as I ask her to. We will more them likely start hunting on horse back in the next year or two and that will be a blessing. I'm looking for a good mule or mountain horse now, as Jessica already has hers and has been waiting on dad to get with the program....This fall we are planning on hunting deer and elk together.
I have been applying for her in other states to build up her points so she can draw some good tags so we can experience that as a family before she loads up her saddle, gets married and starts raising a family of her own. It will be here before we know it......kids grow up so fast.
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kadejones2
tell her congats
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Hunter292
what the heck is wrong with that first one?? it's messed up!!!
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Hiker
what the heck is wrong with that first one?? it's messed up!!!
what is messed up???
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ABert
Looks fine to me???
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wow jeff just saw this post. thats a great hunt. best of luck and prays to the family. lloks like yall had lots of fun
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Hiker
Laredo42, we had a blast and I think she is hooked. :thumb Did you get out speed-goat hunting in 06?
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yeah, did the old archary. closest i got was 70 yards. not too bad, but he spooked. oh well lots of stalks and lots of fun.
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Hiker
Yeh, they are truly a challenge with a bow. Did you hunt Unit 87, 88?
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i cant remember which one is otc but thats the one we hunted. lots of fun though.
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Cowgirl In CO
"Hiker" wrote:Laredo42, we had a blast and I think she is hooked. :thumb Did you get out speed-goat hunting in 06?
Well, guess you are right... I am hooked!
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Utahbowhunter
congrats!!!!!!!!!!!! Those are some nice ones! :thumb
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shed hunter
wow she looks happy!! great job :thumb :thumb
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southwind
That is great, and Jessica's world class smile says it all.

Can't wait to get back out this fall with my family.
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TheGreatwhitehunter
Hiker, Looking forward to hunting with you and Jessica this fall
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Hiker
TGWH, We are looking very much forward to hunting with you too. Hopefully we'll all draw our Colorado antelope tags. [-o<
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Default Avatar
Great bucks!! I know what you mean about the wind, too. I missed a shot on a 16-17" buck because of winds that were at least 30 to 40 mph. He was the biggest buck I've ever gotten crosshairs on. Anyways, great lookin hunt!!
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